Web former and cutter for satchel bottom paper bags



k5. m l- :r K E N J n w l u d .w q m M 4, Q w kw Wm M F. r 3 v r 3 N A 5 I 2 4 Sheets-Sheet l fiA/LM MM C V CLARK WEB FORMER AND CUTTER FOR SATCHEL BOTTOM PAPER BAGS Dec. 12, 1950 Flled June 8, 1945 C. V. CLARK Dec. 12, 1950 WEB FORMER AND CUTTER FOR SATCHEL BOTTOM PAPER BAGS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 8, 1945 Dec. 12, 1950 c, v. CLARK 2,533,433

WEB FORMER AND CUTTER FOR SATCHEL BOTTOM PAPER BAGS Filed June 8, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Dec. 12, 1950 WEB FORMER AND CUTTER FOR SATCHEL BOTTOM PAPER BAGS Converse V. Clark, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to The Chase Bag Company, New York, N. Y.

Application June 8, 1945, Serial No. 598,303

3 Glaims. 1

My invention relates to satchel bottom paper bags and method of making same.

It has been the practice to provide such bags with a thumb notch or recess at one end thereof thus permitting the user to readily grasp the wall of the bag opposite the notched wall thereby greatly facilitating the opening of the bag. The tubular bag machines on which these bags have heretofore been made are .provided, at their front ends, with thumb notch cutters for transversely notching one wall of the tube and at their delivery end with slit cutters for longitudinally slitting the tube at substantially the time the tube is cut off, the slitting operation being necessary in forming the bottom.

A continuous supply of paper is fed to the machine from either one or two rolls according to whether the bag is to be of the single wall or double wall .kind. The outside sheet of paper, assuming the bag is of the double wall type, can be previously printed so that the finished bag will have a brand, trade-mark, directions as to use or other conventional matter printed thereon. The previously printed roll of paper has markings at certain intervals and the machine is provided with an electric eye which picks up the markers, thus controlling the varying speed of the machine so that any variation in the printing will be compensated for by a similar variation in the speed of the machine.

As previously stated in making bags on these prior machines the cutting of the transverse thumb cut or lip through the paper takes place at the front end of the machine. After this thumb cut is made, the tube is formed and drawn by rolls to the back of the machine where it is cut off into bag lengths. Owing to the fact that the respective out off and thumb notch knives are located at opposite ends of the machine and the speed of the machine varying by compensation due to variation of printing, there can be a difference in the distance between one thumb cut and the next and in the length of the thumb lip, corresponding in extent to the compensatory change in the length of the tube.

One of the principal objects of my invention is the elimination of this variation by locating the thumb cut knife at the back end of the machine adjacent the cut off knife. By effecting both the cut off and the thumb cutting operations close together and after compensation has been made this objectionable variation in distance between the thumb cut, from bag to bag, is obviated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide upper and lower opposed cutters for forming longitudinally disposed slits in the tube, the blades of one cutter being spaced apart a greater distance from each other than the blades of the other cutter thereby permitting staggering of the slits.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as the description is considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a more or less diagrammatic side elevation of a bag machine of well known construction with additions and modifications incorporating the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the tube folding mechanism detached;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the machine;

Figure 4 is a section on line 4 3 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section on line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective of one of the interchangeable plates attached to the back end of the shoe 9;

Figure 7 is a detail view of the cut off knife;

Figure 8 is a plan view of the tube;

Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 are views progressively illustrating the various steps followed in making the bag; and

Figure 13 is a plan view of the rear end of the bed plate showing an opening for the lower slitter knives.

As the machine M, employed in making my improved bag, and illustrated more or less diagrammatically in Figure 1, is a well known type of tubular bag making machine, some parts thereof, not directly related to the present invention, are not shown. Thus, such details as the driving mechanism, being of the usual construction, are omitted.

The paper from which the bags are to be produced, assuming that they are to be of a single wall type, is supplied from a roll the web 2 advancing continuously about a plurality of idler rollers 3, and thence over a guide roll 4, in contact with a gluing member 5, mounted in a paste pan 6, in position to apply a strip 7, of glue or other adhesive, extending longitudinally of the web and adjacent one edge thereof.

After the adhesive is applied the web 2 passes to a tubing mechanism where it is folded, as it is fed to and across a bed plate 12. As the folding mechanism employed is old and well known to workers in the art it is sufiice to say that it includes an inside tube guide shoe 9, and a pair of folding guide arms |0l0', for forming top and bottom folds 29 and 30 and an edge or side fold 8. The shoe 9, which is suitably supported above and in slightly spaced relation to the bed plate I2, is connected at its rear end to a plate or extension 55, as at 56. The connection 56, between the shoe 9 and extension plate 55, is removable whereby the plate can be readily removed and exchanged for another plate of different size thus permitting manufacture of various tube and bottom sizes. Oppositely disposed outside folding shoes lI-l l, of any suitable construction and arranged to engage the intermediate and edge folds, as the tube passes to the back end of the machine, also assist in the completion of the tubing operations. Any means, such as suitably driven draw rolls l3, serves to maintain the thus formed tube l5, under proper tension, and to draw the tube to the back of the machine where it is out 01f into bag lengths I5, by means of a rotary cut-off mechanism I5, preparatory to being delivered to the bottoming mechanism, not shown.

Just prior to or simultaneously with the cutting of the tube into bag lengths, by the out off mechanism E5, the transverse thumb notch 33 and the pair of upper and lower longitudinal slits 2'! and 28, hereinb efore mentioned, are formed in the tube, by means of a thumb notch cutter 2e and top and bottom slitter knives 25 and 25 respectively. To this end the machine is provided with upper andlower cutting units Ilil respectively fixed to upper and lower vertically aligned transverse shafts i8i8, journaled above and below the bed plate 12, in brackets 19, formed with upper and lower bearing members 55'. These brackets are suitably attached by bolts 5! to side frame members 52 positioned at opposite sides of the machine in advance of but adjacent the rotary cut off mechanism [6, as best shown in Figure l.

The upper cutting unit H, positioned above the guide shoe 9, comprises a body 2! freely mounted upon the upper shaft I 5 and provided with an arm 23 which carries the centrally disposed arcuate thumb notch cutter 24, for cutting thumb notches 33, in the top fold of the tube Hi; This unit also includes the/upper slitter cutters 25, fixed to the shaft 18 on opposite sides of and in spaced relation to the body of the notch cutter 24. The spacing of the top slitter cutters 25 adapts them for cutting the relatively wide slits 28, through the top fold 29, of the tube. Fixed to the shaft E8 on opposite sides of the body member 2!, of cutter 2t, and between the cutters 25 and said body are a pair of blocks 5858 The block 55 carries a pin 55 while a coil spring 5i connected at opposite ends of the block 58' and to the thumb notch cutter 2t, normally holds the latter resiliently against the pin 55, thus cushioning the shock incident to the notch cutting operation and thereby resulting in a neater cut and no tearing of paper.

The lower cutting unit ll, positioned below the table 52, is similar to the unit I], just described, with the exception that the former unit does not include a thumb notch cutter. Thus the lower unit includes a pair of spaced cutters 25, similar to the cutters 25, suitably fixed to and for rotation with the lower shaft IS. The spacing of these slitters or cutters 25 is slightly less than that of the slitters 25, so that the former will engage and cut through the bottom fold of successive lengths of tubing, at the roper places, to form the relatively narrow slits 2?.

Any suitable driving means, not shown, is employed to continuously and synchronously rotate the shafts l8-l8', in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions respectively, so that the slitter cutters 25-25 will be brought into simultaneous cutting engagement with the respective top and bottom folds 29 and 30, during the passage of these folds over the top face of guide shoe 9 and the extension or plate and between the extension 55 and the top face of bed plate [2, respectively. The plate 55 is formed with a centrally disposed opening 3|, to provide clearance for the thumb notch cutter 24, which moves in an arcuate path into and out of this opening while cutting a thumb notch 33 in the top face of fold 29 of the tubing during each rotation of shaft [5. outer pair of slots 32 and an inner pair 32, in line with the path of movement of the respective slitter cutters 25-25, to accommodate the cutters as they move into engagement with the top and bottom folds 25 and 35 of the tube it, in cutting the slits 21 and 28 therein. The bed plate 12 is formed with a rectangular opening 57 to permit knives 25 to rotate up through the same in forming the bottom part of the tube with the narrow slits 2?. These slitting and thumb notching operations occur simultaneously and the shafts I8l8 are synchronized with the cut off mechanism.

The cut-01f mechanism comprises upper and lower skeleton cylindrical members 62 and 62' mounted upon and for rotation with shafts 53 and 63', suitably mounted for rotation in supporting members 55. The members 62-452, in-

clude oppositely disposed slotted side frame members 6555', connected together by end members 5556'. An elongated cut off knife 6! may be removably mounted in either of the side frame members 6565', in the present instance, in the slot of the side member 65. The upper shaft 53 rotatesv clockwise and the lower shaft 53 rotates counter clockwise and these movements are synchronized by the drive mechanism, not shown, with the thumb notch cutter and slitter cutter shafts. Upon each rotation of the shaft 53, the cut off knife 67 will register with'and enter one of the slots formed in side frame members of the lower cylindrical member 52', and effectively sever a bag length from the tube l4.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that upon each revolution of the shafts l8l8, the upper and lower pairs of slitter cutters 2525', and the single thumb notch cutter 24, will provide the tube, at the desired points with pairs of slits 2l-28 and a thumb notch cut 33; also that at the same instant of time, at the end of each revolution of these shafts, the tube is cut into bag lengths along the line 35. Prior to these slitting, notching and cutoff operations, which occur simultaneously at the rear end of the machine, the varying speed of the latter is controlled by any suitable means, such as an electric eye 58, which picks up markers 49 on the printed web 2 of bag material as they pass beneath the electric eye. The speed of the machine is thus increased or decreased to compensate for any variation in the printed matter on the face of the bag material as the latter comes from the roll The electric eye can be located at any convenient point adjacent the front end of the machine and in the path of the web 2. Assuch speed control mechanism is old and well known to workers in the art, further illustration and description is deemed unnecessary.

The bag lengths l5 pass from the cut off sta- The plate 55 is also provided with an r tion to the bottoming mechanism, not shown, where the satchel bottom 36 is formed in a conventional manner. Thus, the slotted end of the bag length is spread and flattened into the position indicated in Figure 11, with the triangularly shaped end flaps 31 folded inwardly toward the axis of the bag, along converging lines 3838' and the rectangular side flaps 3940 spread. The creases 38 extend from the bases or ends of the relatively wide flap 39, in the top fold or face 29, to the opposite side edges thereof, and the creases 38' extend from the bases or ends of the relatively narrow flap 49 of the back or bottom fold 30. These flaps 3940 are then scored and folded inwardly in a reverse order to that just named, along parallel lines ll-4|, the triangular end flaps 3! bein creased coincidingly as at 4343 so that the portions 45-45 will fold with the side flaps.

It will be noted that by staggering the slits 2T, 28, the resulting flaps 39 and 49 are of unequal width, and that by folding the narrow flap 4!! under the wide flap 39, the side edges of the latter overlap the side edges of the former, a considerable distance, thereby insuring a tightly sealed bottom. Any suitable means, not shown, is provided for applying a layer of adhesive 59 to the opposing faces of the flaps 31, 39 and 41), for causing these parts, when folded, to adhere tightly to each other, as best shown in Figure 12.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a power driven machine for making satchel bottom fiat bags from a Web of bag material fed through said machine from a continuous source of supply, located at the front of the machine, to the delivery end thereof, a substantially flat apertured bed plate on the machine, an extension plate mounted above the rear end of and spaced from the top of the bed plate, a forming iron spaced above said bed plate for forming said web into a flattened tube folded about said forming iron and said extension plate, said forming iron including a tube forming guide portion and a substantially fiat tube flattening portion, the front end of said extension, plate being connected to the rear end of said forming iron so as to form a part thereof, a cut off knife for transversely cutting said flattened tube into bag lengths, the extension plate being formed with an opening and a pair of slits at each side of said opening, upper and lower vertically spaced rotatable horizontal shafts extending transversely of said machine adjacent said cut off knife, one shaft above and the other below the extension slate, a thumb notch cutter and a pair of spaced slitter cutters on one of said shafts and a second pair of spaced slitter cutters on the other of said shafts, said shafts being operable simultaneously whereby said notch cutter and said first pair of slitter cutters and said second pair of slitter cutters will be moved in an arcuate path into contact respectively with the top and bottom folds of said tube whereby a transverse thumb notch will be cut in one fold and a pair of longitudinal slits will be cut in each of said folds adjacent the line of cutting of said cut-off knife.

2. In a power driven machine for making satchel bottom flat bags from a web of bag material fed through said machine from a continuous source of supply, located at the front of the machine, to the delivery end thereof, a substantially fiat bed plate on said machine, a slotted and apertured extension plate mounted on the rear end of and spaced above said bed plate, the bed plate being formed with an aperture arranged beneath said extension plate, means spaced above said bed plate for forming said web into a flattened tube folded around said extension plate, said means including a tube forming guide portion and a substantially flat tube flattening portion extending reartvardly along and spaced above said bed plate, said extension plate being connected to the rear end of said tube flattening portion so as to form a part thereof, a thumb notch cutter and a pair of slitter cutters above and a pair of slitter cutters below said bed and extension plates and operable respectively through the slotted and apertured extension plate and through the aperture in the bed plate to form a transverse thumb notch and a pair of longitudinal slits in the top fold or wall and a pair of longitudinal slits in the top fold of the flattened tube, the slits in one fold being staggered in respect to the slits in the other fold, a cut off knife adjacent to and operable simultaneousiy with the thumb notch cutter and slitter cutters, for severin the slit and notched fiattened tube into bag lengths.

3. In a power driven machine for making satchel bottom fiat bags from a web of bag material fed through said machine from a continuous source of supply, located at the front of the machine, to the delivery end thereof, a substantially fiat bed plate on said machine, a slotted and apertured extension plate mounted on the rear end of and spaced above said bed plate, the bed plate being formed with an aperture arranged beneath said extension plate, means spaced above said bed plate, said means including a tube forming guide portion and a substantially fiat tube flattening portion extending rear- Wardly along and spaced above said bed plate, said extension plate being connected to the rear end of said tube flattening portion so as to form a part thereof, a thumb notch cutter and slitter cutters associated with said bed and extension plates and coacting therewith to form a transverse thumb notch in the top fold or wall and a pair of longitudinal slits in the top and bottom folds of the flattened tube.

CONVERSE V, CLARK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 559,139 Lorenz Apr. 28, 1896 1,571,983 Weber Feb. 9, 1926 2,292,157 Poppe Aug. 4, 1942 2,321,647 Brougham et a1. June 15, 1943 2,324,834 Gurwick July 20, 1943 2,326,931 Dalton et al. Aug. 17, 1943 2,359,190 Avery et al Sept. 26, 1944 

